Background

• Cape Vere, a small insular and archipelagic country, exposed to economic and environmental vulnerabilities, requires appropriate strategies for the management of the nation’s natural resources. has ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1995 and in 1999 drafted the national strategy and action plan on Biodiversity. On 24 February 2003 the Decree-Law No. 3/2003 on the legal regime of natural areas was published, which creates 47 protected areas, subdivided into 6 categories: national park, Natural Park , natural reserves, protected landscape, natural monument and sites of scientific interest. With the legal mandate to protect natural areas, guaranteed by that decree, there is a need to elaborate appropriate management tools, which are fundamental to sound management of natural and cultural resources in a sustainable manner. 
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• In this context the Government of Cape Verde obtained funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to implement a project entitled "Consolidation of Cape Verde’s Protected Area System". It is a national execution project and is implemented by the General Directorate for Environment (DGA) through its Project Management Unit in Praia as well as its two Project Site Units on Santo Antao and Fogo, as well as its two Island-Wide Offices (IWO) on Sal and Boavista, with the following objective: 
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• • “To consolidate and strengthen ’s protected areas (PA) System through the establishment of new terrestrial and marine PA units and the promotion of participatory approaches to conservation” 
• The project will: (i) strengthen the legal, policy, institutional and financial framework to support an expanded protected land and seascape estate; (ii) more specifically, support the establishment of a Protected Area Autonomous Authority (PAAA) with a technically and managerially capable staff complement; and (iii) forge strategic partnerships for enhancing the overall sustainability of the Protected Area (PA) system, including improvements in its financial sustainability. The governance framework to be supported by the project will result in improvements in the management effectiveness of the entire national PA system, through capacity strengthening of institutions and units, management and business planning, policies, laws and regulations. 
• The project is divided into three components (based on outcomes) for implementation as follows: 
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• Outcome 1:    The governance framework for the expansion, consolidation and sustainability of the National PA system is strengthened 
• Under Outcome 1, the PA governance supportive frameworks for ’s PA system will be strengthened in terms of policy, legal, institutional and financial aspects, and the total coverage of coastal marine areas will be increased. A Protected Areas Autonomous Authority (PAAA) will be created, which will be staffed and engaged in strategic partnerships, with a mandate to coordinate and enforce integrated PA planning and management. 
• Outcome 2: Management effectiveness at selected terrestrial and coastal/marine PAs is enhanced
• Under Outcome 2, the project will make operational four terrestrial Natural Parks (on Fogo, São Vicente and Santo Antão) and three MPAs (on Sal and Boavista), extending PA management to five islands that have not previously benefited from a GEF intervention. 

Outcome 3: The sustainability of PAs is strengthened through community mobilization, sectoral engagement and local capacity building for sustainable resource management within PAs/MPAs and adjacent areas 

• Under Outcome 3, the project will ensure the sustainability of all efforts towards a consolidated, expanded and more effective PA system in . Both terrestrial and marine protected areas are impacted by activities of communities living within and around their boundaries, as well as by other economic actors and decision-makers.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Analyze the existing different approaches and scientific methodologies for the definition of carrying capacities and their thresholds.
• Analyze the physical, ecological, socio-demographic and economic policies in the 4 target terrestrial protected areas (PAs) and in the 3 marine ones with regards to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT methodology).
• Define and evaluate ecological carrying capacities and threshold limits for these 4 terrestrial PAs and 3 marine PAs (in particular with respect to fuel-wood collection, agriculture, tourism, fisheries, real-estate developments). Sites on the islands are: Sal: Costa Fragata and Serra Negra, Ponta do Sinó; Boavista: Parque Marinho do Leste; Sao Vicente: Monte Verde; Fogo: Fogo Natural Park; Santo Antao: Cova/Ribeira de Paul/Ribeira da Torre, Morroços.
• Present the ecological carrying capacities and threshold limits to local communities and municipalities explain the significance of these for the viability of protected areas and ecosystem maintenance.
• Be responsible for a practicable methodology and a functional approach to integrate ecological carrying capacities and threshold limits into operational guidelines of the Protected Areas Autonomous Authority (PAAA).
• Carry out a short training for the project team on how to define and evaluate the ecological carrying capacities and the monitoring and evaluation of ecological thresholds with particular reference to the protected area management plans that will be developed.
• Formulate and submit a consultancy report in Praia for approval by the National Project Coordinator (NPC).
• Formulate recommendations for the national project team to improve their knowledge and links with research and development institutions in their respective intervention domains. 

Competencies

• Communication skills for complex information and techniques targeted towards subject matter specialists as well as wider general audiences
• Good competency in pedagogical approaches in order to transmit skills at various levels.
• Ability to communicate effectively orally as well as an excellent level of written skills in order to be able to present, negotiate and summarize work sessions.
• Good skills for efficient facilitation during meetings between various stakeholders (government, NGOs, CBOs, international community and communal levels).
• Ability to work independently as well as in coordination with the national project team in an interdisciplinary manner.
• Strong skills in monitoring and evaluation, and experience in implementing environmental projects.
• Ability to produce high quality reports, publications and project proposals
• Previous experience with GEF projects is an added plus
• Excellent writing skills in French and Portuguese, and a good working knowledge of English is an added plus. 

Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced university education at MSc or PhD level with expertise in the area of biodiversity, environmental impact assessment and participatory development approaches.
• A good understanding of challenges linked to biodiversity conservation versus natural resource use, and particularly in the field of environmental impact assessment; if possible in Cape Verde or at least in the sub-region.

Experience: 

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience, of which at least five are at international level.